Butte County, West Side, Highland, and Sugar-Salem bring home state championships

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) - For the second straight season, four of the six football state titles in the Gem State belong to teams from East Idaho, as Butte County, West Side, Highland, and Sugar-Salem won championships this weekend.

The Butte County Pirates were the first local team to win a title, their first in school history. They did it by playing for each other, including their teammate Dillon Waymire, who collapsed on the sideline during a game earlier this season due to a blood clot in his brain.

Since then, Waymire has been in recovery, and he was in the building with his family Friday night to celebrate with his teammates and witness history.

Later on Friday, the West Side Pirates took back the 2A crown after their three-peat ended last season. It is the fourth championship in five seasons for West Side and the Pirates' ninth overall.

The team with the most championships in Idaho history added another one on Saturday when the Highland Rams won the 5A title against Coeur d'Alene, the 12th in school history.

The Rams won their first championship since 2017 by battling through adversity and rallying together after a fire burned down the D-Wing of Highland High School in April.

To wrap up the weekend, the Sugar-Salem Diggers went back-to-back for their fifth 3A championship in six seasons by scoring a 3A championship game-record 63 points against Teton.